Former Formula 1 driver Mika Salo has said that Kimi Raikkonen has a good chance of hanging onto his place at Ferrari beyond 2017.

After Monaco, where Raikkonen appeared to be the victim of a Ferrari strategy to demote him behind teammate Sebastian Vettel, many said that the 37-year-old is now effectively the de-facto number two driver.

It came amid existing speculation that Raikkonen could lose his seat at the end of his current contract.

Salo told Ilta Sanomat newspaper: "Ferrari will surely be considering the fact that Kimi and Sebastian Vettel continue to get along well with each other.

"I don't think there are any available really good guys who are able to do a better job than Kimi. Kimi was second in Monaco, but he is close to Vettel all the time.

"Vettel is of course already a lot of points ahead, but if Kimi gets a couple of wins, then it could completely change the situation."

Raikkonen is fourth in the drivers' standings heading into the Canadian Grand Prix.

"After Monaco, where Raikkonen appeared to be the victim of a Ferrari strategy to demote him behind teammate Sebastian Vettel ... "

The British press are really insufferable. In Canada Mercedes will probably order Bottas out of Hamilton's way again - and nobody in the UK will be able to see it happening.

It's not all of them, although there are a few with big grudges who are in prominent positions. Enjoy the fact that they are realizing that we are faster.
Just imagine how they are going to squeal when we win the WDC and WCC I can't wait to hear it....

Lets just hope this 2 ferraris fighting for the win continues. I still believe if kimi is clearly faster than Seb in a weekend, they will let him win and not intervene. Pole and pull away after the start, and the win is yours. Easier said than done with Seb, who is having imo his best season up to date

Lets just hope this 2 ferraris fighting for the win continues. I still believe if kimi is clearly faster than Seb in a weekend, they will let him win and not intervene. Pole and pull away after the start, and the win is yours. Easier said than done with Seb, who is having imo his best season up to date

I can't see Vettel leaving Ferrari, his contract will be extended. As far as second driver is concerned, Kimi is more suited as he can happily be Seb's wing man, I don't see Alonso coming back. Rosberg un-retiring can not be ruled out either. I don't want to see Sainz, Perez etc in the red car

Toto said Rosberg could come back in a Ferrari one day. You think he can co-exist with Seb?

We saw Seb, Nico and Lewis together a good deal in post-qualifying and post race interviews in 2015 and 2016, and there always seemed to be a much better relationship between Seb and Lewis than between Seb and Nico. Just on a personal level I don't see those two getting along well. Judged simply as a driver I reckon Rosberg would be a good addition to the team. There was usually very little in it between him and Hamilton.

Everyone is focusing on replacing Kimi, so lets not forget that Seb's contract runs out this year. If we're still fighting for the championship by Monza I expect to see him signing a new contract. On the other hand if Mercedes are back to their dominating ways and cruising to victory to he might decide to try to jump to them and drive alongside Lewis next year. In that case we might see Alonso or Rosberg next year.

I can't see Vettel leaving Ferrari, his contract will be extended. As far as second driver is concerned, Kimi is more suited as he can happily be Seb's wing man, I don't see Alonso coming back. Rosberg un-retiring can not be ruled out either. I don't want to see Sainz, Perez etc in the red car

to be someone's "wing man", you're supposed to protect him from others.....kind of like a "rear gunner".....but in this case when kimi is 3,4 or 5 places back, to me that does't sound like a wing man or rear gunner....then again, that is just me

...the new SF71H looks amazing. Let's hope it's gonna be as FAST as it looks.

to be someone's "wing man", you're supposed to protect him from others.....kind of like a "rear gunner".....but in this case when kimi is 3,4 or 5 places back, to me that does't sound like a wing man or rear gunner....then again, that is just me

Absolutely right. Even if seb has a bad day in the office, he should be there to capitalise on the situation and give a hard time to the mercs. Seems he's so far behind he hardly manages to take points away from the mercs. He's no where near sebs pace and has been under threat from the RB drivers many times which should not happen this year.

to be someone's "wing man", you're supposed to protect him from others.....kind of like a "rear gunner".....but in this case when kimi is 3,4 or 5 places back, to me that does't sound like a wing man or rear gunner....then again, that is just me

Holy hell, wasn't the guy on pole in Monaco and P2 after the race? No one said Ferrari should keep him and then after the Canadian GPs bad performance you demand Ferrari to sack him right away..

Guys, do you have an agenda against Kimi or what is this?

If he carried on the Monaco form to Canada and the rest of the season then I doubt many would have any issues. Pole at Monaco does not change much about the whole season. Ricciardo is challenging him for 4th place while Seb leads the way which tells it's own story.

I agree. If Vettel is finishing first, he must finish third or higher in order for Ferrari to clinch the WCC. I hope I'm wrong, but I have a feeling we will only be seeing Vettel win the driver's championship.

I agree. If Vettel is finishing first, he must finish third or higher in order for Ferrari to clinch the WCC. I hope I'm wrong, but I have a feeling we will only be seeing Vettel win the driver's championship.

Kimi needs a car set up to get him on pole. When he's on pole he can win or come in second with Seb moving up on him. Ferrari has 2 #1 capable drivers given the equipment. Neither RB or Merc has a better driver than Kimi or Seb.

For me the problem with Kimi is that he seems inconsistent, one day he can be brilliant then the next he just doesn't seem to perform and falls back into the pack. As a Felipe fan, Ferrari partly let him go for similar reasons, but a wing-man is also capable of winning on one of his good days!!

Kimi needs a car set up to get him on pole. When he's on pole he can win or come in second with Seb moving up on him. Ferrari has 2 #1 capable drivers given the equipment. Neither RB or Merc has a better driver than Kimi or Seb.

Kimi needs to be more capable of adapting to various setups, you can't get always what you want. At the moment, with this inconsistent performance it looks like he may not even be in top 10 drivers on the grid. Sad. If he doesn't defeat Bottas this year i think it's time to hang up his helmet.

Very true! You can't get always what you want unless your the #1 driver. What's sad is as you say, if Ferrari can't give Kimi a car that can defeat Bottas' Merc car, maybe Kimi should switch teams with Bottas. How many podiums, wins did Bottas have with Williams? A on the money car helps every time.